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Published: June 11th 2008
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Apologies for a later blog post, but when you're traveling around, not a whole lot of time to sit down and write! Long story short, for the past month, I've been somewhere different every weekend. Hence, minimal blogging. Anyways, I'm back for a bit and have a few posts up my sleeve.
Other than an offsite out near Dulles International Airport, I haven't traveled for work since I started in August of last year. Back in March, I decided to sign up for a training course down in Atlanta at my company's headquarters. I was actually kind of excited to go, since I've never set foot in Georgia before. Additionally, I wouldn't have to pay for my flight or hotel out of pocket! I did, however, book personal vacation tickets from Atlanta to Orlando for a few days. About 3 days before I was supposed to head down for training, I get an email that says my class had been cancelled. Needless to say, I hit the panic button. Sh*t, am I going to have to fork out more cash to get down to Orlando? Thankfully, my boss is a cool guy and let me go down to Atlanta, under
Fountains in Olympic Park
5 minutes later - kids were being beasted. the condition that I would do some fieldwork in place of my class. I agreed, and left for my first "business" trip down to Atlanta.
As soon as I landed in Atlanta, I immediately thought, sh*t, it is hot down here! Granted I am originally from New England and bake everytime it hits 80 degrees outside, but man, it was hot! I bought my ticket for the local Marta train and began my ride to the hotel. The conductor who came over the loudspeakers sounded much like Andre 3000 from Outkast, with his laid-back Southern twang. Very amusing. I was waiting for him to bust into Hey Ya, but no dice. Speaking of Atlanta rappers, as we passed from station to station on the Marta, I saw the names of all the places ever mentioned in any song by Outkast, Ludacris, T.I., and any other ATL rapper. If the ever open up a hip-hop hall of fame, I vote Atlanta. As the train continued on, I noticed something very convenient for tourists to the city. At every station stop, the conductor (or automated voice) would tell what attractions were accessible from each stop. At least if you didn't know
where you were going, you knew where to get off the train. I continued on to just north of the city, where my hotel and lunch meeting the next day were. Not knowing exactly where this hotel was, I was the idiot who hopped in the cab and literally went half a mile to the hotel and got overcharged. Dumb move. First time mistake, it won't happen again. I proceeded to get back on the Marta and head downtown for some dinner at an Atlanta landmark known as The Varsity. This massive drive in is famous for its chili dogs, onion rings, and orange frosty shakes. Do you even need to ask what I got for dinner? As soon as you walk in, you are greeted with the traditional Varsity calling of "What'll Ya Have?" Funny thing is, the "old timers" who've been working there for 30+ years love it. The 16 year old high school kids working behind the counter hate it. Oh well, respect your elders as they say. I got my meal, and literally wolfed down the chili dogs. Not big or filling at all, so it was a good thing I got the side of rings.
Also not as good as the half-smoke from Ben's in D.C., but still enjoyable. After my meal, I headed back to the hotel, but not before some whackjob trying to get on the train gave me his Marta card, and then asked me for money. Confused? So was I. I (smartly) called the hotel shuttle to pick me up from the Marta stop, had a quick workout in the gym, and got some rest before I explored downtown Atlanta the next day.
After a morning workout to burn off the rest of the chili dogs from the previous night, I headed into downtown Atlanta. When I went to the Varsity the previous night, I literally walked off the train and walked right over to the Varsity, without scratching any of the surface downtown. I exited the Marta train at Five Points, the main hun of downtown, and walked around the central area for a bit. I did notice Underground Atlanta, which is basically one big open air bar, restaurant, and shop fest, where I hear you can parade around with beer outside from bar to bar. Too bad it's dead at 11 in the morning. I also passed by
the campus of Georgia State University, which basically looked like one big hospital building. Since classes weren't in session, the campus was bare. After making my way back near Five Points, I headed to Olympic Park which was just around the block. The only really remaining memento from the 1996 Summer Olympics, the park has shooting fountains and lots of benches, perfect for just hanging around and enjoying the day. Lots of little kids were running around getting doused with water, having a good time. Close by the park are two of Altanta's top attractions - The Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coca-Cola. I decided to hit up both. I went to the aquarium first, and I have to tell you, I was quite impressed. Each section of the space had its own theme, ranging from tropical fish to artic creatures. Also, lots of tanks where you can reach in and touch a lot of the fish floating around. One really cool part of the aquarium was the large tank where you could walk under the fish, sharks, and whales swimming by. Little kids were going apes**t I tell you. After about an hour or so, I headed to
the World of Coca-Cola, where I was slammed with Coke advertisments from the minute I walked in. After listening to about 3 minutes of Coke tv and radio jingles, I had to subject myself to a 5 minute film on what happens inside a Coke machine..excuse me..a happiness factory. I was thirsty, so after checking out some cool Coke artifacts and the bottling process, I went to the best attraction in the whole building - Taste It! An entire area where you can sample more than 70 varities of Coke products from around the world, as much as you can drink. Basically, I tried all of the international beverages with a quick shot style. Seriously, if you filled the sample cup all the way, you'd have a sugar rush by the time you finished Asia. Lots of interesting flavors, many fruit based sodas, and a couple of interesting cola products. However, the best sample was from Africa, which tasted like a mojito soda, heavy on the mint. Surprisingly, very refeeshing. To top it off, you get a free bottle of Coke (in a glass bottle) when you leave. Oh wow! After I left the building and had enough Coke products
to last me for a year, I headed back to my hotel where I took care of some work stuff for the rest of the day. I headed back on the Marta one more time, and was off to the airport.
I have to say, Atlanta surprised me. A little sketchy at time, but definately enjoyable. Need to check out downtown a little more next time, as well as hit up a Braves game. Oh yea, and I'll have two more chili dogs at the Varsity next time I visit.
Until next time, safe travels.
-Kacz
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